Dauntless Soul Brew Co. is steaming ahead on new locations

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

February 24, 2025

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – LaRae Simonis said her goal with Dauntless Soul Brew Co. was to serve up great coffee with a great sense of community.

Simonis said she’s been able to do just that – so much so that she’s embarking on new and more permanent locations for Dauntless Soul Brew Co.

The journey to here

Simonis said it’s been quite a journey over the last few years, originally starting the coffee business in a tent at farmers’ markets in May 2022.

She said she had previously worked in factory settings but found she missed the human connection that a service-oriented business offers.

That, combined with her love of coffee, Simonis said, led her to establish Dauntless Soul Brew Co. – so named after asking friends to describe her.

“A lot of people said determined, fearless and that I like to pursue my dreams, so I built Dauntless Soul after that,” she said. “I wanted to create a space that brings people together, and coffee always brings community.”

Simonis said it didn’t take long before the business warranted more than a tent, prompting the establishment of a coffee trailer that could serve as a full-service coffee shop on wheels.

She said she began using that for farmers’ markets, other events and in an Omro parking lot in September 2022.

By January 2023, when most mobile trailer businesses shut down for the season, Simonis said she didn’t.

She said she was approached with the opportunity that would allow her to park the trailer in a courtyard on East Main Street in Omro. 

“That month, we got the trailer situated in the courtyard, and it hasn’t moved since,” she said.

Instead, Simonis said it has provided a semi-permanent location for the shop for the regulars in pursuit of their coffee, cappuccino, Lotus energy drinks, lattes, tea, hot chocolate or chai. 

An ever-changing menu

Simonis said she and her 12-employee team come up with a new menu every month, featuring 10-12 new drinks to keep their customers on their toes as to what’s next.

Some of the offerings, she said, are a reflection of the recipes she culled when she attended coffee school before launching Dauntless Soul Brew Co. – while others are the result of brainstorms of team members’ favorite desserts or the like.

“We have made a lot of drinks and haven’t had any failures yet,” she said. “But, I can say we did our (due diligence) with the core ingredients and tasting of ingredients ahead of time. I know what brands of syrups and ingredients to use, and that takes the guesswork out of it. We know the ingredients are good, and the flavors will come through the coffee like we want them to.”

Simonis said the specials are also a reflection of key holidays, such as Valentine’s Day features with chocolate and strawberry, for example, or the weather, with summer serving up more refreshing and lighter options.

The Lotus energy drinks, she said, are now available caffeine-free, which has been a great addition for parents seeking a drink for their kids.

And, while it was a bit slow to catch on, Simonis said Dauntless Soul Brew Co.’s cold brew has developed quite a following.

“We sell a lot of that, which customers can get flavored or not, and we put a cold foam on top of it,” she said. “It’s one of our signature drinks that we sell quite a bit of once people get to know it.”

In addition to having a consistent location customers can head to, Simonis said she further enhanced the customer experience by adding a warming hut to the courtyard in early January. This space, she said, allows customers to place their order at the trailer and then pop into the warming hut until their order is ready, out of the elements.

Simonis said this builds upon the offering Dauntless Soul Brew Co. introduced last winter with its temporary courtyard domes – clear, heated domes in the courtyard, each featuring seating, tables, a few games and seasonal decor. 

“The domes can be reserved and are also available on a first-come, first-serve basis,” she said. “We limit use to an hour but if nobody is waiting and (there is) no reservation, people can stay longer. They are heated, and if the sun is shining, they’re super warm. Otherwise, you need a jacket but they’re comfortable.”

Additional expansion potential

Simonis said the seasonal domes and warming hut aren’t the only opportunities for Dauntless Soul Brew Co. to grow and evolve.

She said she was offered the opportunity to relocate her coffee shop into the building next to the courtyard and even began deconstruction inside the property. 

“The game plan was to have a fully functioning cafe inside the building and then the trailer could go traveling again,” she said.

Though she is currently navigating a few hurdles with that opportunity, Simonis said she is already envisioning taking the old firehouse property back to its roots.

This, she said, would include creating an industrial feel to the space with three glass garage doors on the front facade and access to the courtyard where patrons can enjoy the outdoors and even live music from time to time.

Simonis said her vision is to extend hours into the evening on some days, and add a light food menu along with a full bakery and even serve craft beer, wine and crafted signature cocktails. 

And while that plan is on hold, Simonis said she hasn’t let her desire to broaden Dauntless Soul Brew Co.’s reach sit still.

In fact, she said when she learned the Omro location’s evolution was on hold, she began researching an opportunity on the west side of Oshkosh.

Simonis said she knows her Omro location draws people from a 20- to 30-mile radius on the regular, and sees a gap in coffee shops on that side of Oshkosh.

The challenge there, she said, was a lack of real estate available – but she had an idea.

“I found a drive-thru mobile trailer in Montana and purchased it, with the idea of customizing it and placing it as a fixed kiosk in the Menards parking lot there as a drive-thru-only option,” she said. 

The opportunity, Simonis said, is sitting with the Oshkosh Planning Commission and will go to the Oshkosh City Council at the end of March.

If approved, she said her vision is to have a construction phase in April with plans to open at the end of May, but all of that is to be determined.

In the meantime, Simonis said her phone began blowing up with messages asking her to consider taking over a Redgranite coffee shop that recently closed, and said she considered it.

“People repeatedly said how a lot of people rely on that shop as a community space and asked if I’d consider taking it over,” she said.

Simonis said that led to a conversation with the owner of Sunshine Coffee in Redgranite that revealed both an opportunity and a good fit.

Sunshine Coffee closed its doors Feb. 22 and Dauntless Soul Brew Co. then took it over to begin some remodeling in anticipation of reopening under its name April 1. 

Simonis said not only is it an exciting opportunity for her but also for Shari Chapman, the owner of K&B Treats.

Chapman, a home baker, currently supplies her treats to Dauntless Soul Brew Co.’s Omro location on Wednesdays and Fridays, staying onsite until she sells out.

Simonis said that relationship will further blossom at the Redgranite location, with Chapman moving K&B Treats onsite to bake a wider range of items for customers of not only that location but Dauntless Soul Brew Co.’s other locations, as well.

“She will be baking there, making scones, cookies, bagels, bars and sourdough and regular bread – the opportunities are endless there,” Simonis said. “She will also bake scones, bars and cookies for other locations, and then we might do a Sourdough Saturday or something with bread in the other two locations as well.”

Creating an experience

In addition to the edible and drinkable options, Simonis said she envisions all three locations will continue to deliver the level of customer service and sense of community on which she built the original business. 

“It’s about creating an experience for people to come and enjoy our coffee,” she said. “When people ask us why we are so successful, I sense it’s the experience customers feel from the time they come to the window to the time they leave.”

Whether that’s having a regular’s go-to order started when they see them pull up, suggesting and making drinks off menu if people have other favorites or giving a pep talk – Simonis said it’s all part of the Dauntless Soul Brew Co. experience.

She said she is also a huge proponent of supporting the community at large, such as sponsoring drinks for Omro’s sports teams.

Simonis said she believes intentional efforts help the community feel a sense of ownership in the coffee shop, which she thinks is “pretty cool.”

Nowadays, Simonis said that reach isn’t limited solely to the parked coffee shop but extends to a new mobile coffee bar that Simonis had built in November – which has allowed her and employees to head to local companies and hospitals serving up coffee, teas and other drinks. 

“We just got it going last November, so we haven’t advertised it a lot because we were working out the kinks,” she said. “We were out three times in February and will be out five to six times in March.”

Simonis said she also hopes to get into weddings with their mobile cart, a venture Dauntless Soul Brew Co. hasn’t taken quite yet.

The ideas, she said, keep coming, and the customers keep showing up, which she said still amazes her.

“It has grown so fast, and I can’t quite put my finger on what we did so well to allow us to grow so fast,” she said. “We have grown 20-25% year over year in revenue, which means more people are coming to find us and helping us to grow. People tell us it’s like a second home to them, which we try to be. I feel like we support the community and filled a hole that needed to be filled in the community.”

Find Dauntless Soul Brew Co. on Facebook for more.